Module 2: Shiloh

Module 2: Shiloh

Summary: Marty Preston loves to spend his time wandering the hills of his home in West Virginia. Although his family is far from rich, they make do with their little house in the hills. When Marty takes a walk he runs into a beagle. The beagle is friendly, but subdued and follows Marty home. Marty finds out that the beagle belongs to Judd Travers, a rough, hostile hunter that treats his dogs with no kindness. Marty knows that his family can hardly afford a dog, and Judd will not sell his dog for a price they can afford. Marty has to find a way to save the dog he has come to love; a dog he named Shiloh.

Citation: Naylor, P.R. (1991). Shiloh. New York, NY: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc.

Impression: Shiloh is a well-loved classic for many reasons. Stories about animals touch many people’s hearts because most people have pets that they love or have loved. We can understand why Marty wants to save Shiloh, and we begin to love Shiloh as we read. Marty is a great character because he is true to his age yet he shows the maturity that comes with growing up in an impoverished home. He knows that his family can barely afford to care for a dog, so he works to save money. Marty’s mistakes are those of a boy desperately trying to hold on to someone he loves, and readers love him more for those mistakes. I think that this book will continue to be a classic because there is something about a boy and his dog that is universally understood and loved. When a child shows loyalty, courage, and love for an animal all readers can understand the emotions that Marty experiences.

Review: A gripping account of a mountain boy's love for a dog he's hiding from its owner. Marty, 11, tells how Shiloh, the runaway, first caught his heart; still, his bone-poor West Virginia family has a strong sense of honor, and the dog is returned to its owner. After it runs back to Marty, he hides it in the woods. As Marty's structure of lies to his parents compounds, the villainous owner circles closer. By the time Judd finds Shiloh, the whole family is compromised and the dog has been injured. Marty does get the dog, partly by another lie of omission: he blackmails Judd when he finds him poaching and makes a deal to work for Judd to pay for the dog, but tells his parents another version. Fine lines are explored here: How necessary is it to adhere to the strict truth? "What kind of law is it...that lets a man mistreat his dog?" Has the dog been "saved" if this leads to its injury? Marty concludes that "nothing is as simple as you guess--not right or wrong, not Judd Travers, not even me or this dog." Meanwhile, young readers will rejoice that Shiloh and Marty end up together. (Fiction. 8-12)

(2010). Shiloh [Review of the book Shiloh]. Kirkus Review. Retrieved from: https://www.            kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/phyllis-reynolds-naylor/shiloh-2/

Suggestion: Librarians can use this book for a book talk and interest animal lovers in reading. The librarian could pair this book with another animal book or nonfiction animal books to demonstrate the variety of engaging books there are that focus on animals.